Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 1.djvu/358

338 forces, to harass the enemy, and to aid, with all their power, the subjugation and capture of Mexican property and territory.

Immediately after Thornton's surrender, General Taylor, availing himself of authority with which he had been invested to call upon the governors of Louisiana and Texas for military aid, demanded four regiments of volunteers from each state, for the country in the neighborhood of the Rio Grande was alive with belligerant Mexicans. He then visited the fortifications opposite Matamoros, and finding the garrison but scantly supplied with provisions, hastened back to Point Isabel with a formidable escort, and obtaining the requisite rations, commenced his march back to Matamoros and the fort on the 7th of May. But, in the interval, General Arista, had crossed the Rio Grande with his forces, and on the 8th, our General encountered him, drawn up in battle array at Palo Alto and ready to dispute his passage along the road. A sharp engagement ensued between the two armies from two o'clock in the afternoon until nearly dark, when the Mexicans withdrew from the action for the night. Our total force in this affair, according to official reports, was two thousand two hundred and eighty-eight, while that of Mexico, according to the admission of the officers, amounted to six thousand regulars with a large and probably undisciplined force drawn, at random, from the country.

The night of the 8th was passed with some anxiety in the American camp, for the fierce conflict of the day induced many prudent officers to believe it best either to return to Point Isabel or await reinforcements before again giving battle to the enemy. General Taylor heard and weighed the opinions of his most reliable officers, but, after due reflection, determined to advance. The condition of the fort opposite Matamoros demanded his urgent aid. The moral effect of a retreat would be great, at the commencement of a war, both on Mexico and our own troops; and, moreover, he had perfect confidence in the disciplined regulars who sustained so nobly the brunt of the first battle.

Accordingly the troops were advanced early on the 9th, for they found, at day dawn, that the Mexicans had abandoned Palo Alto for a stronger position nearer the centre of action and interest at Matamoros. After advancing cautiously, in readiness for immediate battle, our men came up with the Mexicans, in the Resaca de la Palma, or as it is properly called La Resaca del Guerrero,—the "Ravine of the Warrior," which afforded them a natural defence against our approach along the road. The ravine, curved across the highway and was flanked by masses of prickly plants